mouldin



G. W'. MOULDIN. Operating Hatohway-Doorsf OFFICE.

GEORGE: w. oULnm OF sr. LOUIS, MISSOURL OPERATING, H`ATQHWY-DOOS`..

sPEoIFIeA'rIon forming part of Lettefs 1 atent No;,224,23, dated February 3, 1880.

Application filed Junei21, 1878.

of the city of St. Louis,;in the State' of""Missouri, have inventedacertain new and, useful Improvement in Hatch-Olosers for-Hoisting Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact'deseription, referencebeing had to the aeeompanying drawingsyforming part of this speeificati on. i

My improvement relates' to that-'class' of hateh-closers eonsistin g of doors hin ged to the side of the hatchway'; and whichare automatically swung down to permit-thepassage of the platform and closed after its passage.

My invention con sists in combining with*the closing-doors an upwardly-extending vibrating arm carrying an adj ustable counter-balanee, whoseweight tends to hold the doorsjin the position in which theymayhe, (either ,open orclosed.)

My improvement' also consists in frningthe cog-sectorswith teeth in 'eiicess of theiiumber on the rack they take into,' and attheend with a tooth of greater lengththan the other teeth of the sectors, so that it (the elongated tooth) will not 'fail' toreceive impingement of i the first tooth of the cog rack upon -th'e plat form. i

My invention also eonsistsin' a spring-block` inserted in the face of the elongated teeth, to prevent the jar that ?might otherwise result from' the impact of the rack against ,the tooth The inventio 'alsoconsists in` arranging within recesses in the side pieces springs adapted 'to bear against a central *lug on the rack and act as a cushion therefor. A Figure lisa perspective view of my'inven-j tion. Fig. 2 is a section showing some* part in sideview. Fig. 3 is a view showinga spring-j catch. Fig. eis a 'viewof the sector,` showing part j in section' to exhibit the springblocks. 'Fig. -5` is a-'section'of thejelongated tooth. Fig. is a section of a cog-raek; showing the springsallowing endj movement to relieve the jarjwhen the rackj comes in'contact with a sector. 4 i

The guide-timhers -or uprights areshown at A. Bare thesidepieces; G, the transomof i the platform, and 'D is the floor of the same.

The floors' of` the building are shown at E.

The hateh or hatch-closer F F consists of two leaves, whosej"edges maycome together on' a central line 'from post'to post," as shown, or which* 'may eachf'be made angular and the line of 'contact run obliquely to the hatehway. Eachof the leaves of 'the hatch is hingedto the floor of -tl'e building by means of a shaft, G,turning in *suitable bearings G', and carrying a` sheave;or`pulley,H`or^H', so that as the sheave receives a pull 'one-fourth of a rotation, orrather more, the hatchs opened or closed,

as the case may be: These sheaves are of course. setout of the course of the platform, and are connected together by a belt, wire, cable,- or otherpower-conveyer, I, that is crossed or otherwise arrangedto cause the simultaneous turning of the sheaves in opposite directions, to cause both leaves of the hatch to rise and fall together. j s r The sheaves H and H' are Weighted on the 'oppositesides to the hatch, to partly counterbalancethe weight of the pa'rt's of the hate thatare `attaehed to their shafts.

'Tlecahle or belt I, atthe ends, lap about half aroundthe sheaves "H and H', and their ends are Secured fast to the sheaves, so as to impart-a positive movement.

The sh'eave H, in addition to the rope' or belt I, earries another cable, I', which conneets it with a pnlley or sh'eave, J, the end of the' cable extending half around the sheaves, and being attachedthereto, so that there isa positive simultaneous movement of the'sheaves or pulleys HandJ in the same direction. i

The shaft J' of the sheaveJ carries a cogsector, K,..whose eogs Ic k' are'engaged by a cog-rack, L, upon the -side piece, B, of-the platforzn".` As the platform ascends and descends-itgives to thesheave Ja partial rotaton. i

L i The'sheaveJ is preferably weighte'd at j to counterbalance the weight of the cog-sector Kit 5 The shaft' J carries an arm, M, on which is i an `adjustahle weight, N, '(slidin g on the arm of the hatch-closer, and, second, to carry the leaves to their extreme positions and to hold themin such positions until again acted on by the cog-gears K L on the passage of the platform.

Ois a sheave connected to the sheave H which is fast upon the same shaft as the sheave H', by the crossed cable or belt 1 whose ends are lapped around the sheave and secured thereto to secure positive simultaneous movement; of the sheaves H', H and O.

The sheave O is very similar to J', and its shaft 0 carries a cog-sector, K', which is engaged by a cog-rack, L', upon the side piece, B, ot' the platform. O' is a'weight on the sheave 0 to counterbalance the sector K'.

It will be obscrvcd that by means of the sheaves and the connecting belts or cables I 1' 1 the leaves F must open and close simulta neousl y. All the parts are counterbalanced, so that the movements maybe made with ease.

The cog-sectors K and K' are peculiar in eonstruction, the end teeth, Ic, of the sector beinglon ger than the others, and the sectors are made each with one more cog than the racks L L so that in working the long teeth Ic lap over the ends of the rack. The purpose of this construction ot' sector is to insnre the proper engagement of the racks and sectors by the end tooth of the rack first coming in contact with the long tooth of the sector and carrying the sector with it, so that the teeth of the rack and sector shall come together in the proper relative position.

The cog-racks L and L' are attached to the side pieces by bolts that pass through vertical slots lin the racks, so as to allow to the racks a limited vertical movement on the side pieces. l' l' are springs occupyin g recesses in the side pieces, and hearing against a central lug, P, on the back of the rack. The springs act to lessen the concussion of the sector against the rack by receiving the force of the blow and allowing the rack a limited movement with the sector nntil the inertia of the hatch-closing mechanism is overcome.

In addition to the spring device l' I?, 01 :in place thereof, I provide the side of the elogated tooth Ic, upon the side which comes in contact with the rack, with a spring-block, 75 working in a recess, 79 upon a rnbber or other spring, k in the recess.

The face-block 75 is connected to the tooth by pins k fixed in the block and working endwise in the tooth. When the sprin g-block is applied to the outer tooth, then the next to that, k, should be beveled ofi` at the same side, as shown at so that its end 'may not come in contact with the end of the second tooth of the rack, and this second tooth of the rack may be also beveled at the end, as shown, for the same purpose.

The npward motion of the leaves F in closing is checked by stop-lugs P and moving bolts Q, the latter connected to the lower ends of a forked lever, R, whose upper end is forced outward from the hatch by a spring, S, to carry the bolts beneath the leaves F and hold them there.

Bearing against the outer side of the upper end of the lever lt are the ends of two levers, T and U. The other ends ot' these levers are forced outward by cam-ribs V upon the side pieces, B, to draw the catches Q, from beneath the leaves, to allow them to open when the platform is approacling them, and to hold the catches back while the leaves F are again closing.

The platform is supported on a hoistingoable, W, or raised and lowered by any suitable means.

The operation is as follows: Supposing the platform to be ascending, the cam-ribs V come in contact with the lower ends of the levers U and force back the bolts Q to allow the leaves F to open downward. Then the rack L' comes into contact with the larger tooth 70' at the top of aog-sector K', and the continued ascent of the platform causes the sheaves to turn and the leaves F to open downward. Then when the platform has passed the hatchway the rack L engages the sector K, and the sheaves are all turned in an opposite direction to close the leaves F.

It will be seen that the weight N is thrown past the vertical from side to side as the hatch is opened and closed, so that by its momentum and gravity it will complete the movement of the leaves.

When the leaves have closed, the can-ribs V pass the upper ends of levers T and the spring S projects the bolts Q beneath the free edges of the leaves, and they are held up until the return of the platform.

In descending, the sector Kand rack L coine in action first, to open the hatch, and it is closed by those K' L'. i

The special purpose I have in elongating the outer teeth of the sectors is to prevent the teeth of the racks and sectors from becoming jamned together, from coming in contact in an improper position. This is made necessary because the platform generally has some little side play upon the gnide-timbers, and consequently it' the end teeth of the sector were made the same length as the others the ends of the sector-tooth might inpinge against the end of the rock-tooth, and the apparatus would not operate. There would also be danger of breakage; but in my Construction the rack first strikes the side of the elongated tooth, and the parts are necessarily brought into the proper relative positions.

I am aware that self-closing hatchways have been provided with vertcally-arranged racks and toothed wheels to en gage with such racks, and also with sheaves connected by cables and actuated by the toothed wheels. Such, therefore, I do not broadly claim; but

I claim as my invention- IIO IZO

attachment, and' combined with springs l', hearing against lug l for the purpose set forth.

4. The seetor-tooth Ic, provided with spring 15 hearing-face k' Ic substantially as and. for the purpose set forth.

GEORGE -W. MOULDIN. e

Witnesses: V'

SAML. KNIGHT GEO. H. KNIGHT. 

